Nick Cleveland and the Spirit of Christmas
by Technomad
Summary: It's Luna's first Christmas without her Daddy, but her housemates are looking out for her. Set in J.L. Matthews' Slytherin Rising continuity, and uses characters from Slytherin Rising.


Nick Cleveland and the Spirit of Christmas

By Technomad

"This'll be my first Christmas---_ever_---without my Daddy," Luna Lovegood said sadly. .

Melissa Lovegood looked affectionately at her niece. While she wasn't close to her brother-in-law, she had nothing against him; as a Muggle-born wizard in a skeptical, modern-oriented family, he'd had a rough time of it in some ways, and he had been odd even before marrying a witch who was an eccentric in her own right. With such parents, combined with the trauma of having lost her mother, it was to be expected that Luna struck most people as strange. Having her as a guest over the Christmas holidays had been interesting in several senses of the word---not that Luna was ever malicious or even as much trouble as her own children, but she was quite a contrast to Michael and Marlie. Being a Ravenclaw rather than a Slytherin also marked Luna as different to the rest of her kin.

"Well, Luna, that gives us something in common. This is my first Christmas without Marlie here. It's strange not to have her---not that I mind having you, dear, it's just that I keep expecting to hear her voice or look up and see her."

"I keep expecting to see Daddy. I wish he could have come home from Norway, but money's a bit tight. At least he's staying with Nick's relatives. He wrote me about them."

A rumbling noise from outside grew louder and louder, and Mel looked out the window. "Speaking of Nick, this looks like him coming in now." With a squeak, Luna scrambled to the window to look out too.

Out in the farmyard, a motorcycle-sidecar combination had come to a stop, and a leather-clad figure was climbing out of the saddle. Beside him, in the sidecar, another leather-wearer was pulling off a helmet, letting long black hair spill out, as she stood up and opened the sidecar's door.

"Why don't you let them in, Luna? I'll be in the living room." Luna flitted down the hallway to the front door, arriving there just as the bell rang, as Mel sat down in the living room to await their guests.

"Well, hel_lo_ there! How's our little Luna-moth?" Mel smiled to herself; she was glad that Luna had found some older friends in her own house to keep an eye on her while she was at school. From what Mike had told her, she had been having a rough time of it, and even her habit of floating along in her own little world had barely been enough to keep her going.

"Just great! Oh, it's _so good_ to see you! Come on in---I want you to meet my Auntie Mel!" Luna towed her friends into the living room, beaming so brightly that Mel felt like the sun had come out. "Auntie Mel, I want you to meet Nick Cleveland and Melinda Yang!" Nick Cleveland was an average-looking sort, with wavy dark hair and sharp, heavy-lidded pale grey eyes under thick dark brows, but next to Melinda Yang nobody'd pay him any attention. Melinda was beautiful, lithe and graceful with classic Chinese features and thick black hair that flowed to her waist. Both Ravenclaws had several packages apiece in their hands, which they set down on the table.

"We've met, dear," said Mel, standing up and holding out her hands in welcome. "At least, I've met Nick---I've seen Melinda, but she wasn't aware that I was there." She shook Nick's hand, then took Melinda's hand in both of hers. "I must say, you look much better than you did when I saw you last."

Melinda's tip-tilted eyes opened wide. "When was that, Mrs. Lovegood?"

"You were in the hospital wing after you took that dreadful fall last year." Melinda went white as flour, and her hand began to tremble. "Yes, dear, I'm Marlie Lovegood's mum." _Why, the poor thing's scared out of her wits!_ Mel suddenly realized. "Didn't Luna _explain_ who I was?"

Melinda's mouth opened and shut, and her eyes went even wider. Nick looked at her, and took up the conversation. "She just said she was staying with her uncle and aunt. She didn't think to mention just who you were, and Melinda's not always up on magical geneaology, at least not west of Tibet."

"Oh, I see!" _Luna __wouldn't__ think about such things, would she?_ Turning to her niece, Mel said: "Luna dear, why don't you take your friends' jackets and helmets and show Nick where the coat closet is, and then you and Nick can go out and see if Sukey has the tea and snacks ready. You must be hungry after that ride."

Raising an eyebrow, Nick let Luna lead him off, leaving Mel alone with Melinda. The Ravenclaw girl sent a _don't leave me_ look after Nick, then let herself be conducted over to a sofa. Mel sat down with her, still holding her hand. "Melinda---Melinda, dear, I'm honestly not angry with you, and neither are my family. We can't approve of what you did, but you weren't in your right mind, or in any shape to be back at school."

Involuntarily, Mel remembered what she had read about the Chinese girl's ordeal. During the previous year, she had been summoned out of Hogwarts to aid her family in Singapore against the Tcho-Tcho, and had been captured. Before she could be rescued, she had been tortured terribly, and she had been sent back to Hogwarts long before she was really ready to go. Just the thought of what Melinda had faced made Mel shudder. The Tcho-Tcho made the Death Eaters at their worst seem harmless and well-meaning.

"You---you don't hate me?" Melinda's voice shook. "But---you love Marlie---don't you?" When Melinda had returned to Hogwarts, one of the very first people she had met had gleefully filled her ears with a lurid account of Marlie Lovegood's pursuit of Nick Cleveland, precipitating an attack on Marlie that could have killed both girls, and had left Melinda unconscious for a week after suffering a fall. _No wonder she's so nervous,_ thought Mel. _I mean, finding that you're sitting with the mother of someone you tried to murder is a social situation that would tax __Miss Manners'__ ingenuity_!

"Melinda, dear, I do love Marlie, very much. I do think I know my own daughter, though. She's not a bit above stealing another girl's boyfriend---her attitude toward men is 'want---take---have.' Frankly, I'm surprised that Nick _didn't_ fall for her." Then Mel realized that what she had said could be taken in more than one way. "Oh, I didn't mean that you're not attractive!"

"Thank you." The Ravenclaw girl's voice seemed stronger, and she didn't seem to be as frightened as she'd been. "In some ways, that stay in the hospital wing was just what I needed. When my family had me back, the second that I could walk, it was on to the flying machine and back to Britain. Madam Pomfrey was furious when she found out." For the first time, Melinda smiled---she did have a very nice smile. "What she had to say about the Tcho-Tcho---let's just say that I learned some interesting new words."

"I can imagine!" Then Mel realized just what Melinda had told her. "Why didn't you stay in Singapore? What was your mother thinking?"

Melinda looked away. In a low voice, she answered: "What she always thinks when she sees me---'too bad _you_ lived and your younger brother died; too bad you're a worthless _girl_ and not a boy.'" She gave Mel a bitter smile. "In China, 'boys rule---girls drool,' and Mother never forgave me for being a daughter. I'm about as welcome as a spider in the soup, as far as she's concerned."

Mel's mind reeled with shock. _ No wonder she's so touchy! _She couldn't imagine what it would be like, to grow up knowing that her mother resented her very existence. "How could she do that? How could she be so cruel?"

The Chinese girl looked down. "Well---it's like this. I had a brother---I mentioned him. And _there are __no Squibs in China_."

"No Squibs in China? But that's im---" And then the other shoe dropped, and Mel felt sick. "Oh, Merlin! Your brother---?"

Melinda nodded. "I was ten years old at the time. I remember screaming, begging them not to do it, and then a flash of green light." She stared off at something only she could see. "I never saw him again, there never was a funeral, he was officially non-existent---what Orwell would have called an 'unperson'---from that moment on." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Mother never forgave me for being the one _with _magic."

_Even the __Malfoys__ would never do a thing like that!_ Mel felt a moment's rage against Melinda's parents. She had once feared that Marlie was a Squib; she'd been a late bloomer with magic, first manifesting it at an unusually late age. No matter what, she'd have thrown herself in front of a bullet or a spell aimed at her children, Squib or no Squib, and she knew that, despite all their differences, her sister Narcissa would do as much for her "little dragon" without the slightest hesitation, and count her life well-lost if her child survived. She remembered the loss of Narcissa's daughter, and had felt her sister's anguish as though it was her own, even though she'd been barely tolerated at the funeral. When she had come home, she had wept for hours, holding a bewildered Marlie tightly.

Right about then, Nick came in, bearing a tray full of teacups and piled high with snacks, as Luna bounced along beside him, her face wreathed in a happy smile. With some relief, Mel put aside the subject of Melinda's past, and began to play the gracious hostess.

* * *

When Leonard and Mike came in, Melinda was telling a tale of one of Nick's exploits. "---so you see, Machiavelli Junior here thought that a poteen distillery would be the perfect hobby. Both practical---he could claim it as an extra-credit activity for Potions class, not that he needs any extra credit there---and lucrative. Pity it didn't work out that way."

"I'd have got away with it, too, if it weren't for that meddling Hagrid," grumbled Nick, with a grin that belied his sour tone. "How was _I_ to know that the smell would attract that overgrown souse? There I was, quietly tending the fire underneath the still, when all of a sudden Hagrid comes out of the bushes with Professor Dumbledore in tow!"

Mel laughed and laughed. "And _you_ were _busted!_" When she had her giggles under control, she asked: "So what happened?"

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore wasn't really angry. He admitted that distilling a drop of the creature wasn't covered under the rules, at least not by name, but he still told me I couldn't keep the still. He gave us ten points for Ravenclaw for coming up with such a good design, though."

"Us?"

"Oh, yes, I was there too," Melinda explained. "While he was tending the fire,_ I_ was busy bottling up some of the popskull we'd already distilled. Never saw _that_ again, did we, Nick?"

"Nope. Professor Dumbledore confiscated all the poteen we'd already produced---'to be disposed of in a non-wasteful, safe manner,' or so he said." Nick explained, as he and Melinda grinned reminiscently. "That Saturday evening, there was the most almighty uproar from the faculty common room, and the next day, all the teachers were either not to be seen, or dragging around looking like death warmed over."

"So what did you do with the still?" asked Mike.

Nick looked very innocent. "_All _Professor Dumbledore said was that I had to remove it from _Hogwarts property_. So-o-o, I owled the bloke that owns the Hog's Head down in Hogsmeade, and we made a deal. He keeps it in the basement of his pub, and I pocket half the profits he makes from it." Nick suddenly grinned a very smug grin. "I have to say, that was one of the better deals I ever made!"

Mel shook her head. "Marlie and her friends did say that you're one of the trickiest people at Hogwarts."

"Too right he is," chimed in Mike. "Around Slytherin, we think the Sorting Hat was having an off-day when he was Sorted." Nick and Melinda turned, seeing Mike and Leonard for the first time. "Melinda, Nick, I want you to meet my father. Dad, this is Melinda Yang---yes,_ that _Melinda Yang---and this is Nick Cleveland. "

Melinda paled, eyes wide. Leaping to her feet, she bowed very low to Leonard, who looked very startled to elicit such a reaction. "Oh, sir, can you ever forgive this worthless person?" she asked. "This person is aware that her faults are beyond forgiveness, but honour demands that she beg for it nonetheless."

Leonard looked slightly horrified to see anybody abase herself so. "Miss Yang---from what I heard, you weren't really in your right mind! Please don't blame yourself for what happened!" He gently straightened Melinda up, looking into her eyes. "Marlie wasn't really hurt, and she learned a valuable lesson. She said that she's forgiven you, and that you're 'not-enemies,' to use a phrase she apparently picked up from you. If she can forgive you, then so can I."

Nick let out an almost soundless sigh of relief. Leonard turned to him. "And now I finally meet _you_! This story---the one about the still---sounds interesting. What sort of design were you using?"

As Nick began explaining, grabbing a nearby tablet and pencil to draw a diagram, Mel, Luna and Melinda shared a look. Melinda muttered, not loud enough for the men to hear, "Men and gadgets---a match made in Heaven," and all three women laughed quietly.

* * *

An hour or so later, Nick glanced at his watch. "If we're going to make the curtain at that theater, we'd best start moving," he announced. "Melinda, why don't you take Luna in tow and give her her Christmas presents?" Luna squealed with delight. Melinda smiled and handed her a package, which she tore open in a blizzard of paper. Once it was open, she squealed again and held up the contents: a pair of dark-blue culottes cut to look like a pleated calf-length skirt, and a blue-and-bronze knit sweater.

"Happy Christmas, Luna---from both of us," said Melinda. "I knitted that sweater myself." Hugging her presents to her chest, her eyes shining, Luna smiled so brightly that it felt like the sun had just come out.

"And we didn't forget the rest of you, either," said Nick. With a smile, he handed Leonard, Mike and Mel a package apiece.

Curious to see what she had received, Mel tore open her package, and her eyes went wide as her mouth fell open. She reached in, and held up a beautiful brocaded silk blouse, shimmering in green with white trim. "Oh my _goddess_! This is gorgeous!"

"I'm glad you like it, Mrs. Lovegood," smiled Melinda. "Now you know why we wanted those pictures of your family, Mike," she added. "We needed to know her size."

Meanwhile, Mike and his father were opening their gifts. Mike found that he'd been given a book about Quidditch and its derivatives, while Leonard was delighted to find that he now owned a huge, profusely-illustrated coffee-table book about the US space program. Nick saw Leonard looking at him questioningly, and explained: "My aunt lives a few miles from the Kennedy Space Centre. If you'd told me you were going there beforehand, I'd have given you her address. She's always interested to meet new witches and wizards."

Melinda stood up and pulled Luna to her feet. "Come on, Luna---time for a makeover!" Turning to Mel, she asked: "Can we use your bathroom?" Mel nodded, and Melinda swept Luna off toward the bathroom, leaving Nick with the rest of the Lovegoods.

Nick sighed. "Gilding the lily. That's what I tell her she's doing, but she still does it."

Water began running, and a loud shriek of "Luna, you _brat_! Okay, scoot over, I'll climb in with you!" interrupted Nick. He shrugged his shoulders. "Ever since I built a hot tub and sauna for Ravenclaw Tower, the girls, at least, have taken to bathing in groups. Left to their own devices, they'd hog it all the time. As things stand---" he spread his hands in a _what-are-you-going-to-do_ gesture---"they only hog it ninety percent or so of the time." A loud crescendo of giggles came from the bathroom.

When the girls finally emerged, Mel's eyes widened in surprise. Luna's hair was fully under control, combed and plaited into a long braid that went down her back to just above her waist, and she was dressed in the clothes Melinda had brought for her, along with thick stockings and a pair of elegant boots. _Why, she can be attractive when she wants!_ Mel thought. Beside her, Melinda looked elegant and exotic in a high-necked, frogged Chinese tunic in dark blue brocaded silk, and cullottes very similar to the ones she had given Luna.

"Oh, Merlin! You did a wonderful job, Melinda!" applauded Mike. "I didn't realize how pretty Luna could be!" Melinda smiled proudly. "I wish Draco Malfoy could see her now!"

"Now that the bathroom's free, I'll want to change too," said Nick. He took much less time than the girls had; after a few minutes, he came out, and Mel caught her breath. _Oh my…I have to say that Marlie and Melinda have good taste!_ Nick was wearing a navy-blue turtlenecked sweater with yellow yarn worked through it, black trousers and high soft black boots.

As Leonard and Mike went off to their rooms, Nick commented: "You know, it might be a good idea that we're as much older than Luna is as we are. As things stand, I would feel rather sorry for any guy that tried to date her."

"Why is that, dear?" asked Mel.

"Does this answer your question?" answered Melinda. She fished in her bag, and brought out a parchment. "My artistic impression of what any date she went on with _us_ in the vicinity would be like."

Mel looked at the parchment, and her eyes went wide. It was a very skilful drawing, showing Luna sitting at a table at what was obviously Madam Puddifoot's in Hogsmeade, looking happy and holding the hand of some generic boy. The generic boy didn't look happy, though; it was hard to blame him, since not far away, Melinda Yang and Nick Cleveland were sitting, side-by-side, their arms folded across their chests and scowling daggers at him.

"Melinda's rather…over-protective…of people she cares about, and Luna's on that list," explained Nick. He grinned rather ruefully. "Sometime, you'll have to persuade Mrs. Tyler---Deanna's mother---to tell you about the time Melinda nearly squared off with _her_." The Ravenclaw leered. "In a way, it was a pity that fight didn't go forward. I'd be interested to know just how well Melinda'd do against a fully-trained Auror."

"I still say I'd have had her guts for garters, if you hadn't called me off," smiled Melinda. Seeing Mel's shocked expression, she explained: "Normally, I wouldn't fight with an Auror---but I was more furious than I've ever been. This was worse than that time with Marlie." The Chinese girl looked grim for a second. "I did have my reasons, but would rather not discuss them."

"Oh, _man_, were you ever in a state!" Nick said reminscently. "You know how sometimes magical people do magic without wands, without meaning to?" Mel nodded. "Well, she didn't have her wand out, but she was so berserk that magical sparks were coming off her fingers!"

"Enough about that. The theatre awaits!" With that, Leonard herded the whole group out the door, to the Lovegoods' car. Normally, a typical British car would have been a tight fit for six people, but Mel had discreetly worked on it so that it was big enough for all of them to have plenty of room. Luna took it all in stride, but Nick's eyes widened knowingly, and he winked at Mel.

* * *

After the curtain fell, and the people started filing out of the theater, the Lovegoods and their guests were swept along in the crowd, finding themselves in the street before they quite knew what had hit them. Luna was still giggling at the rapid-fire wordplay in the show they'd watched. "Nick---did those men do other shows?" she asked.

"Gilbert and Sullivan? You bet they did!" Luna's eyes went wide with wonder. "They did, if I remember rightly, about fifteen or so. The one you saw just now---_The Mikado_---is one of their best."

"Did they ever do shows about _our_ kind of people?" Melinda leaned toward Luna and made a shushing sign with her fingers; there were many Muggles about. So far, Luna's first exposure to Muggle culture had gone remarkably well, but there was still the potential for catastrophe.

Nick looked thoughtful. "Well---there's _The Sorcerer,_ and _Iolanthe'_s about fairies, if I'm not mistaken. I know at least one of them's about fairies. I'll have to look it up." He grinned at Mel. "One of them---_Princess Ida_---is about a beautiful princess who retreats with a bunch of other women to a castle so they can study and become learned without being distracted by icky _men_. Sort of like a Muggle Hogwarts, but for women only."

"Can you imagine Marlie in a place like that?" Mike chuckled. "After two weeks she'd be climbing the walls to escape!"

"And if I were there, I'd be helping her up and over the wall, and following right behind," put in Melinda. "Life without men would be like a broken sword---pointless." Looking ahead, she changed the subject. "Here we are. I owled ahead, and they should be expecting us."

To Mel, the door they had come to looked totally unexceptional. It was blank, and in a blank wall. Melinda seemed to have no doubts, and marched up, knocking out a complicated rhythm on it.

The door opened, and Melinda went on in. She turned, and said: "Well? Come on in. I _said_ they're expecting us."

Once they had passed through a short, dark passage, they found themselves in a luxurious dining room. Mel gasped in shock at the furnishings. She was no expert, but she had been in on a couple of stolen-antiques busts and she could tell that the decorations were Chinese, and incredibly expensive.

They were greeted by a coldly beautiful Chinese woman, who looked at the Lovegoods and Nick with an expression that would have looked normal on someone who'd just found a tarantula in her dinner. Melinda's eyes narrowed, and she spat out a few sentences in Chinese. The woman turned to her, and answered. Melinda pulled out a small object---Mel couldn't see just what it was---that had been hanging on a chain around her neck, and the Chinese woman paled. Deferentially, she showed them all to a table, and bowed very low to Melinda before running off as though the Devil were after her.

"I'll have to send the patriarch of my clan an owl about this lot," Melinda mused. "The Sifantong will be---_interested_---to hear about the lack of respect shown my guests."

Leonard was looking around, a worried expression on his face. "Uh---are you sure we can afford this place?" he asked. "I mean, I'm sure you want to show us a good time, but this place looks very pricey. Maybe we could go somewhere else?"

Melinda looked at Leonard as though he'd been caught passing port to the right. "Prices? Are you worried about _paying_ for this?" she asked. Her tone of voice dripped icy disdain. "You all are my _guests_! Never, _never, ever_ mention such a vulgar idea as _paying_ when you're my guest! I'd lose face forever!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Melinda! I didn't mean to offend you!" Leonard scrambled to cover his _faux-pas,_ his face going red. Melinda nodded, accepting his apology. Nick caught Mel's eye and winked gently.

"In any case," Melinda deigned to explain, "this place belongs to my family, ultimately. Charging you for your food would be like charging guests in your home. And I do want to introduce you to real Chinese food. Did Nick ever tell you one of the reasons I was unhappy my first few months at Hogwarts?" As they all shook their heads, the Chinese girl went on: "I'd never been out of Asia since I was a baby, and British food didn't set well at all. I couldn't keep what I ate down, and I was perishing with hunger. After Nick talked me down off the Astronomy Tower, he explained that the Hogwarts house-elves would be happy to provide me with what I needed, and took me down to the kitchens to talk to them."

"Sure did," Nick took up the tale, as the Lovegoods sat back to listen. "Once the house-elves understood what was wrong, they were horrified, and made sure that she had plenty of Chinese food to eat until she was acclimated. These days, she can handle British food, but between hunger and homesickness, she was in a very bad way those first few months."

"And, speaking of food…" Melinda visibly chose to change the subject as several deferential waiters came in, with huge trays laden with steaming tureens. "This will be the soup course."

* * * * * * * * * *

Seven or eight courses of incredibly good Chinese food later (Melinda had explained that the good stuff usually wasn't "wasted on" non-Asians, but that she had specifically commanded otherwise for this visit) everybody was in a very good mood. The meal had included several different Chinese 'wines,' and Mel had made Melinda promise to send her some as a gift for Caitlin Tyler.

_Let's see what she thinks of __this__ stuff,_ thought Mel, her head spinning slightly. She had been surprised at the strength of the Chinese drinks, and Melinda had explained that the character usually translated as "wine" meant "alcoholic drink," and that Chinese "wines," even without distillation, were often more powerful than their Western counterparts.

She was sitting, her chin resting on her hands, her elbows on the table, listening to Nick telling Leonard about his altitude-record-setting broomstick flight, when she noticed that Luna was acting odd---even for her.

The blonde Ravenclaw was smiling a silly smile, rocking back and forth in her seat, and singing softly to herself. Then she stood up, singing:

"_Comes a train of little ladies_

_From scholastic trammels free_

_Each a little bit afraid is_

_Wondering what the world can be!"_

Luna had a very nice soprano voice, Mel had to admit. She suddenly had a dark suspicion, and snagged the cup from Luna's place. Sniffing it confirmed her fears. "Luna---were you drinking the wine?"

"Oh, is that _wine_?" Luna asked. Her big silvery eyes didn't seem to be able to focus. "I always thought wine was _red_. That stuff's clear. It must be water!" She giggled. "I was pretty thirsty, and I'm not fond of this Chinese tea, so I figured that a big, tall glass of nice, cool water was just the thing for me!" She giggled. "And it worked! I've never felt better in all my life!"

By this time, Nick and Melinda were both there, one on either side of Luna. Nick leaned close, sniffing at Luna's breath---and blushing when Luna giggled and kissed him. At Melinda's questioning look, he muttered: "Sloshed to the gills!"

Luna purred: "You know, Nick, you're awfully cute. I wish I were older---and were beautiful like Melinda." Much to Mel's amazement---she'd heard plenty of stories about Melinda's fierce jealousy of other women who seemed to be interested in Nick---the Chinese girl _didn't_ erupt in rage, even when Luna wound her arms around Nick's neck and hugged him.

Nick blushed scarlet. "Don't you worry about being 'beautiful like Melinda,' Luna. You're beautiful like _Luna_, and that's all you need." He gently unwound himself from Luna's embrace. "One of these days, you'll meet some nice guy, and he'll make you forget you ever knew me." Looking past Luna to Melinda, he muttered: "Take over here---this is girl business!"

Melinda rolled her eyes to heaven. "Oh, Kwan Yin pity women! Come, Luna, come with me," she urged, gently pulling Luna along with her. "Come to the lav with me. We'll have a nice chit-chat and you can tell me _all _about which boys you like!" Giggling, Luna allowed herself to be led off.

Nick looked shamefaced. "Melinda has a few doses of an anti-alcohol potion on her---we're both carrying it. She figured she'd best be the one to adminster it, since the side effects can be a bit---embarrassing."

In a few minutes, Luna and Melinda came back. Luna was still visibly under the influence, but just slightly tiddly, instead of drunk. Melinda slipped back into her seat with a sigh of relief. "At least she didn't make a mess," she muttered. "Had to use up all the sober-up brew, but it's in a good cause."

Luna had taken an interest in the decorations, and Nick had volunteered to show her the antiques and explain what they were. This was a chance Mel had been waiting for. Leaning close, she murmured in Melinda's ear: "He's so good with Luna. Don't you think he'll make a wonderful father, some day?"

Melinda's eyes opened wide. "How'd you know about _that---oh_! Mrs. Cleveland must have told you, when I was out!" At Mel's nod, Melinda grinned a very conspiratorial grin. "Yes, I must say that I'm looking forward to being a mother myself. I plan to avoid my own mother's mistakes; I'll love the children the gods send me, instead of being disappointed that they don't fit some template I set up. Nick'll be better, in some ways, than a Chinese husband would be, since he isn't programmed that 'boys rule, girls drool.'"

"He wouldn't think that. You know what his mum's like. Nobody who was raised with her in the family could think such a thing."

* * * * * * * * * *

When the Lovegoods and their Ravenclaw hosts left, the weather had turned sour. Rain was pouring down, and the wind was picking up. "I'll bring the car, dear," said Leonard. "You all stay here under this awning and keep out of the rain." Mel was quite willing to let her husband handle the automobile; he had been given Nick's share of the sober-up potion, and she, along with Mike, Melinda and Nick, was feeling no pain whatsoever.

"Did you have a good time, Mike?" asked Melinda. Mel realised that her son hadn't had much to say. This was uncharacteristic, and she gave Mike a searching look, turning her mother instincts on high.

"I think the thing I've enjoyed the most was watching Luna," Mike answered. "Seeing how hard she was laughing at _The Mikado_ was a lot of fun. I think she was as funny to watch as the show itself."

"Glad to hear it," Nick responded. "Melinda and I want to make sure that she can handle herself among Muggles, should she need to. I can just imagine someone like, say, Draco Malfoy, if he were stranded away from wizard society---it'd be kinder to kill him!"

"You might be surprised, Nick," Mel spoke up. "Marlie's been gently introducing him to the Muggle world. He even went to London with her once, but found it a bit overwhelming."

"I can imagine!" Melinda was standing against the wall, with Luna leaning against her, Melinda's arms around her as the younger girl dozed; the remains of the "wine" she had drunk had made her sleepy. "I handled it fine, but Singapore's too small to allow its magical folk to shelter themselves from the Muggles. At least we didn't have to use one of Nick's little plans to keep the scene serene."

"What was that?"

"I had a contingency plan ready to deal with it if Luna couldn't keep herself from chattering about things that most Muggles aren't supposed to know about," explained Nick. "I worked up a charm some time ago that makes people speak other languages than their own, and I'd have just charmed her so that she spoke my family's dialect of Norwegian."

Mike and Mel looked at Nick in astonishment. "How would that have helped, Nick?" Mike finally asked. "I mean, there are such things as Norwegians in Britain."

Nick grinned triumphantly. Spreading his hands, he elucidated: "Well---in the first place, the chances of finding any such thing as a British person who speaks any foreign language fluently enough to follow colloquial conversation aren't very high---"

"'Aren't very high,' Nick? I'd say it was about as likely as Snape being married!" piped up Melinda.

Nick wagged his finger at his girlfriend. "Naughty, naughty, Melinda. Mustn't say mean things about British people, no matter how true they are. In any case, even if we ran across a Norwegian, my family's dialect's very archaic---about midway between Old Norse and modern Trondheim dialect, I'd say. J.R.R. Tolkien could have maybe followed it if he saw it written, but he's dead, and other than him, I don't know of anybody outside of Lokafiord in Norway and my own father's extended family who can speak it."

Mel was slightly distracted from questions about language. "Why do you think it's so unlikely that Professor Snape will ever be married?" she asked.

All three Ravenclaws looked at her as though she'd grown a third eye in the middle of her forehead. "At his age?" asked Nick, shock in his voice. "From what I can tell, he had a grandson who was in school with my mum!"

Mel's eyes went wide, and she suppressed a grin by main force_. Oh, wait till Severus hears __this__ one_, she thought. She could just picture his face. "How do you come to this conclusion?" she asked.

"Well---" Nick spread his hands---"for starters, Mum talked about a 'Severus Snape' who was a firstie and second-year Slytherin her last couple of years at school, but the description was totally different. _That_ Severus Snape was 'as cute as a bug's ear,' with big dark eyes, silky black hair, and skin like ivory, from what she said. She'd grab him and give him a 'Sevvy-smooch' if he was in range, just because she thought he was so cute. Now, Professor Snape has many virtues, but 'cute' is not even close to being on the list."

"Also," Melinda put in, "when Mrs. Cleveland read the prospectus for foreign-raised students, she saw Professor Snape's qualifications and went into a depressive fit. He has qualifications that she said she'd have had to work fifty years to come near. That was part of why she let Nick go to Hogwarts, instead of an American or Canadian school; she taught Potions, or Alchemy as they call it across the herring pond, for years, and wanted Nick to receive the best possible teaching."

Mel and Mike exchanged glances. They were Slytherins, and no Slytherin ever Sorted could resist this sort of thing. Without a word, they both knew that they wanted to be present when Snape found out how old Nick thought he was---and _why_! Mel pictured Snape, looking shocked at being thought to be so old, and then flattered at part of Nick's train of reasoning.

At this point, the car pulled up, splashing through some puddles. They all climbed in, and Leonard said: "Well, we're off for home. By the way, Nick, your little plan worked perfectly."

_What little plan_? Mel suddenly grew suspicious, but she was a little too sleepy and muzzy from the drink to really pursue it. Nick did look awfully self-satisfied, but he'd been good as gold all day, as had Melinda.

* * *

When they pulled up to Lovegood Farm, it was dark out, and the wind and rain had become really unpleasant. Leonard pulled the car in as close as he could, and they all made a dash for the entryway. At the door, Sukey met them, squeaking: "Please to come in and take off your wet shoes, masters and mistresses! Mister Nicholas Cleveland, your surprise is here, just as you arranged it!"

Rather to Mel's surprise, the living room was lit up. As they entered, a familiar person rose out of the easy chair where he'd been sitting and awaiting their return. Luna's eyes went wide as saucers when she saw who it was. It was Lawrence Lovegood.

"_**DADDY!" **_

Luna flew across the room and threw herself on her father, who wrapped her in a bear hug. Mel could hear muffled "missed you," "love you," and other things, interspersed with happy weeping. Suddenly very suspicious, she looked at Nick and her husband. Leonard and Nick were the only ones in their party that didn't look at all surprised. Leonard looked happy, and a bit misty-eyed; Nick had the expression of one who has seen a deep-laid plan come to fruition.

"You set this up, Nick," muttered Mel. "You had to have done!" The Ravenclaw nodded, smiling broadly. "How---why? What put that idea into your head?"

"Mr. Lovegood was staying with _my_ relatives," Nick explained. "He couldn't afford to return to the UK, but _I _could afford to bring him, easily enough. We sent him back here to Britain and Sukey let him in through the Floo. I set it up with Sukey and Mr.-Lovegood-your-husband."

"And how did you do that, Nicholas Cleveland?" Mel was trying to be angry, but Luna and her father were so obviously blissfully happy that she couldn't keep it up; she could identify too easily with a parent who wanted to see his child at Christmas. "I read all the owls this household receives!"

"Easy, Mrs. Lovegood," Nick went on. "We knew that you'd read anything an owl brought, so I just used the Muggle post and contacted Mr. Lovegood at his office. When I explained that I wanted one of Luna's Christmas surprises to be her daddy, he was happy to cooperate. He squared things with Sukey, and the rest was just a matter of timing."

"But why all the subterfudge?"

Melinda answered: "You ought to know Nick well enough, or know enough about him, to answer that one. He's never happy unless he has some scheme or other afoot. He's gone nearly a month without doing _anything _unexpected, or underhanded, or sneaky, and I was wondering how long he'd hold out." She shook her head, her eyes suspiciously bright. "I have to say, this is one of his schemes that I approve of completely."

By this time, Luna and her father had managed to unwrap themselves from each other. Luna towed her father over. "Daddy, I want you to meet some friends of mine from Ravenclaw House. This is Melinda Yang---" Melinda bowed politely, "---and this is Nick Cleveland. I told you about them. Melinda, Nick---this is my Daddy!"

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Lovegood," Nick responded, holding out his hand for a shake.

Lawrence Lovegood shook Nick's hand firmly. Then he turned to Melinda, and embraced her; startled, the Chinese girl stiffened in fear for a second, before relaxing and hugging him back. "I can't tell you how pleased I am to meet you at last!" he said. "Luna's told me all about you---how kind and gentle you both are, and how you look after her!" He stepped back, smiling. "How can I ever thank you for taking such good care of my little girl?"

"Oh, it's our pleasure, Mr. Lovegood," answered Nick; Melinda was dabbing at her eyes. "We're happy to do it; she's a nice girl. She just had a little trouble adjusting to Hogwarts at first. I'm rather ashamed I didn't notice it earlier, or I'd have stepped in before I did."

"Make that 'we,' Nick." Melinda smiled at Luna's father. "I like having her around; I admit I don't always rub along well with other women---it's a long story---but Luna's been good for me. I can relax around her."

Nick peered at his watch. "Blimey, is that the time?" he muttered. "Look, everybody, Melinda and I'd best change to our riding togs and hit the road!"

Mel looked outside, to see what looked like a horizontal wall of rain coming down. "You are _not_ riding that motorcycle in this weather, Nick Cleveland. You and Melinda can stay here---and so can you, Lawrence. I know your Floo's down, and the weather's not fit for man nor beast."

"No, we'd best go," Nick answered. "We can't impose on you any more. We'd use the Floo, but you need special Floo powder to Floo into the Singaporean Embassy, and the Floo's down at my kinfolks' place in Whitehaven."

"You're staying right here," snapped Mel.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

Later, Melinda came in to where Nick was preparing for bed. In a borrowed pair of Mike's old pyjamas, he was settling down on a camp bed in Mike's room; Luna and Melinda were in Marlie's room, and Lawrence was sleeping rough on the living-room sofa.

Melinda grinned. "Guess you told _her_, didn't you?" Her grin turned into a mocking smile. "I so love it when you're masterful and masculine, Nick!"

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, any _smart_ man knows when he's outgunned, and I know better than to go up against a mother in 'mummy mode.'" He yawned. "Mrs. Lovegood kind of reminds me of my own mum, in some ways. Mum'd have skun me alive and rolled me in itching powder if I'd told her I was riding that bike in this weather."

Melinda leaned forward. "You know, I loved your surprise for Luna. That was the best Christmas present you could have given her." She kissed Nick. "And me, too!"

Nick kissed her back. "And with _that_, I think we'd best go to our _separate _beds. The Lovegoods say these freak storms don't last too long, so we can head back to London tomorrow. I will say I wasn't looking forward to trying to navigate in the dark, even without the rain."

"'Night, Nick---and Happy Christmas. I think I understand what the holiday's about now. You never were quite able to explain it before." As Melinda left, Nick turned out the light and settled back.

END


End file.
